It is true Ken Saro Wiwa was my friend, but I still had to arrest him —Major Odina (rtd)

Commissioned second lieutenant on December 14, 1985, Major Tunde Odina spent 21 years in the Nigerian Army and made a mark as a gallant soldier who proved his mettle in Liberia during the peace-keeping operation. He supervised the arrest of the late Ogoni environmentalist, Ken Saro Wiwa in 1995. In an interview by TUNDE BUSARI, Odina traced Saro Wiwa’s problem to a meeting he held with the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha during which he rejected ministerial offer. Excerpts:

 

Can you recall the circumstance leading to your retirement in 2006?

I was retired on medical ground in 2006. It was during a fierce exchange with the Niger Delta militants in 2003. My APC (Armoured Personnel Carrier) was hit by the Niger Delta militants’ bomb when I became too stubborn to their plan. My soldiers died in the trenches during the attack. I felt something at the back of my head and that was how I was in coma. I was revived at the UCH (University College Hospital), Ibadan. That was the beginning of the end of my military career. I eventually suffered paralysis as you can see me now.

 

How do you feel having your seemingly promising career that could have probably made you a General now cut short?

Let me say your guess is as good as mine. The ambition at commissioning is to reach the peak in service even though not everyone is destined to achieve that ambition. But I must say that God had a hand in the beginning and end of my career. Whether I like it or I don’t like it is not important again after 12 years now. My retirement paper was signed on July 17, 2006 by Major General J. O. Agbola, another Ijesa man. Incidentally, General Agbola died in a plane crash one month after. I have accepted it in good faith and moved on, despite my immobility. You can see I am not down.

 

You are in good condition, a contrast to the fate of some ex-servicemen. What is the secret?

There is nothing like secret. I have enjoyed tremendous support of my colleagues who are still in service. I am very proud of the Nigerian Army. My colleagues assist me as I also collect my pension. I must particularly tell you that the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Buratai has been of immense assistance. He has brought a new life into me. I must also thank General MD Abubakar. He did his best in ensuring the Chief of Army Staff got the details of my predicament. The Chief of Army Staff has changed my story entirely by approving fund for my rehabilitation and evacuation abroad for better treatment. General Buratai has achieved what Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was not capable of achieving in modern European History. In fact, the Minister of Defence also gave a directive on how I would be taken abroad for treatment. I am grateful for the concern which they have all shown. If I come in another world, I still want to be a soldier.

 

With your familiarity with the Niger-Delta terrain and the militants, how best do you think government should handle them?

The truth of the matter is that the militants issue is complex because we are talking of different groups operating at the same time. I think the amnesty which the late President Umaru Yar’Adua offered them was a right step. But is it being sustained? My advice based on my experience is for government to use persuasion rather than force.

 

How did you return to Niger Delta region to have played the role that led to the arrest of the late environmentalist, Ken Saro Wiwa?

In the military, you have no control over your next assignment. That has always been the tradition, which every soldier must respect. I think my performance in Liberia, which was a piece of news of sorts, informed my return to the region marked as restive. As I have just said, the posting is a normal military assignment. From July 1994 to November 1995, I was in the 2 Amphibious Brigade Camp, Port-Harcourt. Don’t forget that the event that resulted in the order to arrest Ken Saro Wiwa occurred on July 22, 1994 when four Ogoni elders were murdered by angry youths.

 

What did your investigation find out to be the cause of the youths’ action?

The youth alleged that the elites were saboteurs. They accused them of working against the interest of the people. The youth invaded their meeting and captured them. They set them ablaze. It was a red letter day in the history of Ogoni people. But as a government such incident would not be allowed to degenerate to anarchy. Something must be done to quell it and promptly too. That was what happened and the background to the arrest and detention of the famous Ogoni Nine including Ken Saro Wiwa.

 

I learnt you had a good relationship with the late Ken Saro Wiwa?

It is true we were close to a large extent. He had friends everywhere because he was a liberal and very friendly man. He was fond of me whenever he was in town.  I called him Uncle because of the respect he had for Yoruba people. He always spoke so well about the late MKO Abiola and other Yoruba leaders. We used to hang out and do things together during our leisure hours whenever he was around. But there must be a demarcation between personal relationship and official assignment as a soldier.

 

Don’t you regret the role you played in arresting the one you call your friend?

I just said it that there must be a demarcation between personal relationship and official assignment. I was in the place for a purpose as a soldier. Looking at it from this professional angle, I will say it again that I do not regret my action because my oath and allegiance was to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The public need to be educated about this. I have said enough on this, I may be constrained not to speak further on that page of my career.

 

If you meet him would you apologise for betraying him?

Apologise for betraying who? Haven’t I just said that my allegiance was first to the nation? I did not betray him in any way because I would not have been assigned the role I played if I were not a soldier of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It was a national assignment, regardless of the person involved. They are two different issues, which we should not mix up. If you asked him, he would tell you what I just said. He knew better.

 

With your many discussions with Ken Saro Wiwa, he must have observed some personal issue between him and the authorities, especially the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha. What did he tell you about him?

Your guess is right. It is true he told me a lot of things. He told me how both of them served in the Third Marine Commando during the civil war. He also told me their lives together in Port-Harcourt after civil war.  They knew each other so well. Ken Saro Wiwa called General Abacha diminutive. I first heard the word ‘diminutive’ from him. He always jokingly said both of them were of diminutive stature. When General Abacha took over in November 1993, Ken Saro Wiwa told me, General Abacha invited him to Abuja. In fact, he said he had sent a plane to carry him. When they met, Abacha sought Ken Saro Wiwa’s support for his new government. He said he would not want him to give him tough time as he did during the regime of General Babangida. They spoke during lunch. Abacha told him that he would make him the Petroleum Minister if he agreed to support him. But hearing this, Ken Saro Wiwa banged the table and jumped out of the place. He found his way to the park where he took a night bus back to Port-Harcourt. He told Abacha that he would, under no circumstance, betray his people because of personal benefits. He said that incident marked the beginning of his problem with General Abacha, who was monitoring him and waiting for opportunity to teach him some lesson. He knew he was being monitored but because of his nature as a very stubborn person, he was moving on with his life.

 

Were you satisfied the way the matter was handled?

It is not a matter of my personal opinion. It is a matter of state. It is also a matter between Ken Saro Wiwa and his friend. My opinion was that the matter would not have ended that way if Ken Saro Wiwa had done what Ledun Mitte did. He was one of them but he was spared because, as a lawyer, he knew the nitty-gritty of the issue involved. That was why he survived. The summary of the whole thing is that only a foolish individual confronts the state and expects to win the battle. In 2005 I wrote a book on Ogono crisis in which I gave a detailed account of what transpired and the role I played as a Major in Nigerian Army. The book is a 120-page publication I am very proud to have written despite my being on the chair. I keep record as a son of lawyer. That was what made it easy for me to come up with every detail of the crisis.

 

How can you describe your 21 years career in the military?

The summary of my career is that I did what my heart wanted. Military was my passion. I did not see any other profession as attractive as being a soldier. So, I chose my career in defiance to my father, a lawyer who wanted me to become a lawyer. But I was not interested in his profession. I had access to his books but I was not interested in inheriting those books. It was military I wanted. That was why I ran away from the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan to the Nigeria Defence Academy without his knowledge. I travelled by rail. My father was then a Chief Magistrate, who did not want me to do any other thing aside Law.

 

Where was your first posting after your commissioning?

After the academy as a second lieutenant, I reported at Air 6 Mobile Battalion. That was on January 2, 1986. My first company commander was the former GOC of the Second Mechanized Division, Ibadan, Major General MD Abubakar. I had a memorable time under his command. He was the first American trained airborne officer this country produced. My relationship with him was so cordial that he knew my wife and even patronized her when she was selling bags. I can recall that he used a bag he bought from my wife to his course in the US after he had earlier told me that he liked the bags which my wife was selling. I think he returned from the course and became ADC to General Sani Sami. But we did not meet again until he became the GOC of the Second Mechanized Division at Ibadan. I was in Air 6 Mobile Battalion till 1990 when I was posted to 20 Amphibious Battalion from December 1990 to July 1994. I was in Liberia from July 1991 to August 1993. That was when Samuel Doe plunged the once peaceful country into war. Major General Joshua Dongoyaro was the commander then. I was not an ordinary eye witness to major events that characterized the war, I was also an active participant as my assignment required.  I did my best to prove that I was in the right profession. I should have completed a book on my experience in Liberia.